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In every settlement, the pervasive and somewhat pungent small of “Turf”—a.k.a. peat—wafts through the winds. Peat remains a primary source of energy in these regions. It continues to surprise me that someone, sometime, somewhere, figured out that it is possible to burn this sludge (it is a soggy, muddy, mess of vegetation mixed with dirt) and that it burns almost as hot as coal and cleaner—when it is dry.

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Sheep raising appears to be the sole source of economic activity in these remote areas (other than tourism). It appears to me that the only way sheep are economically viable is with the huge subsidies that they get by virtue of the EU. It reminds me of the American cowboy. The US subsidizes the cowboy culture as a romantic idea of the wild West. The sheep and cattle that they contribute to the meat supply of the US is nothing. The subsidies are huge and they vote Conservative—anti-welfare, anti-federal government, even though they absolutely could not survive without the welfare that they receive from the federal government. I wonder if Ireland’s sheep farmers have the same conservative, anti-welfare, anti-government, and contradictory views?

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This is one of the houses of Lord Mountbatten—his summer residence. He was killed here in his boat in 1979 by an IRA bomb. As it happens, we are here when Prince Charles is making a visit to Ireland and Monachmoor in particular as a peace and reconciliation tour. Prince Charles has met with the head of Sinn Fein and others that only a couple of years ago would have been impossible. Good on you, Charles! It seems to have gone very well.

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